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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24402178">The Start of Something Different</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/dr_sturgeonman/pseuds/dr_sturgeonman'>dr_sturgeonman</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>So Long as the Music Plays, We Dance [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Magi: Adventure of Sinbad (Anime), Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic, Sinbad - Fandom</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Age changes, Aladdin's twelve for reasons, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Female Aladdin (Magi), Mostly backstory for other plot, author still has no idea what's going on</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 04:21:48</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,949</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24402178</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/dr_sturgeonman/pseuds/dr_sturgeonman</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Basically the crackpot backstory to my other crackpot story with the short of it being Sinbad's birth was such an outlier Ugo sent Aladdin out to mitigate any damage that might occur from such an anomaly.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aladdin/Sinbad (Magi), Hinahoho/Rurumu (Magi)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>So Long as the Music Plays, We Dance [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1762072</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>31</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>The Start of Something Different</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>So this has been on my computer for quite some time, just finished touching it up a bit.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>“The ones in this barrel are the best of the crop!”</p><p> </p><p>Munch munch munch munch munch.</p><p> </p><p>Sinbad really had only been expecting fruit, maybe a rat or two. But inside the barrel, the group of gathered merchants and the young Partevian boy found what could very well be described as a small blue gremlin eating away at the fruits inside, think a giant rat but much cuter. They all stared at it dumbfounded.</p><p> </p><p>The kid wore a simple blue vest that covered the bindings on their chest, puffy white harem trousers around their legs while they went barefoot. A white silken turban on top of their head with a glimmering ruby on a gold chain holding it together. Their blue hair tied in a long braid. By far the most peculiar thing was the golden recorder strung around their neck.</p><p> </p><p>The gathered group stared in a mixture of abject horror and amazement at the kid’s bravado. Said kid eventually felt the awkward stares beaming down on them like a spotlight, looking at them with a blank look before smiling in relief. “Yokatta! I thought I’d be trapped in this barrel forever and have to eat fruit for the rest of my life! You really helped me oni- Guh!” The small child couldn’t finish as the young woman who had just opened the barrel smashed the lid right on them as they were climbing out of the barrel.</p><p> </p><p>Utter chaos breaking out, the merchant’s apologizing for the horrendous mix-up and loss of produce. The eldest daughter trying desperately to put the lid back on, as if putting it back would make the blue gremlin vanish back to whatever hole in the ground they popped up from. The kid was fighting with the ferocity of a cornered animal but looked more like an angry kitten. After a brief scuffle in which the small thieving goblin put up a surprising fight for its freedom, giving Sinbad a black eye with a surprisingly deft kick in the process. Sinbad managed to use the kid’s turban to bind their arms to limit their mobility, and promise the merchant family that the kid would be properly punished for stealing/eating their produce.</p><p> </p><p>The merchants still grateful for Sinbad’s kindness gave him what the child had not eaten, surprisingly, a little more than half the barrel.</p><p> </p><p>On one shoulder the blue-haired child, he was pretty sure the kid was female, had been tied up like a mummy, only their wiggling feet and head free, eagerly chattering Sinbad’s ear off while the boy lugged his haul back to his village. Pissed off as he tried to see through his fancy new shiner while juggling the brat and sack of fruit. Both of them lighter than two barrels filled to the brim with fish but much more awkward to carry.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s your name?”</p><p> </p><p>“Sinbad.”</p><p> </p><p>“Where are we going?”</p><p> </p><p>“My home, Tison village.”</p><p> </p><p>“How far is that?”</p><p> </p><p>“Not far.”</p><p> </p><p>“Why is your hair purple?”</p><p> </p><p>“Well my dad had purple hair so I guess that’s why.”</p><p> </p><p>“You were so cool back there Aniki!” Aniki, this brat he had just met, got kicked in the face by, and ultimately hogtied, was calling him Aniki?! “Were you in the city just to stop those bandits, did you know they were gonna cause trouble, or wer-”</p><p> </p><p>The brat’s constant chatter and questions were quickly getting on Sinbad’s last nerve until the dam finally broke. “Shut up already will you!” He screamed, muttering to himself about damn trouble making chibis hiding in barrels and stupid bandits causing a scene. Thankfully the kid took the hint and the two carried on in blessed silence under the unrelenting summer sun. The bluenette didn’t ask any further questions, seemingly content with the information Sinbad had provided them, kicking her feet lazily as best she could while watching the few wispy clouds pass by. Sweat running down his forehead and getting in his good eye, making his already sub-par vision blurry.</p><p> </p><p>The quiet, the heat, and the awkward burden making what should have been a thirty-minute walk journey feel longer than it had any right to be.</p><p> </p><p>“What’s your name?” Sinbad asked after the silence became even more unbearable than the brat's constant chattering.</p><p> </p><p>“Hmm?” The brat had the gall to look at him with a blank innocent confused stare.</p><p> </p><p>Shooting the girl a dirty look over his shoulder. “Your name. It’s rude to ask people their name without giving your own ya know.”</p><p> </p><p>She seemed to brighten up at his question. Answering “Aladdin” and giving Sinbad the most blinding smile. Sinbad had often been told he was a happy-go-lucky idiot who smiled too much, but this kid seemed to radiate happiness and sunshine out of their ass with the enthusiasm of an overly excited puppy.</p><p> </p><p>“Alright then, Aladdin.” He said looking at their head hovering a few inches away from his face, their eyes looking at him innocently with friendliness despite being wrapped up and immobile. “What were you doing in that barrel anyways?”</p><p> </p><p>“I got stuck.”</p><p> </p><p>Sinbad’s steps came to a halt. “Stuck?” He asked dumbly, looking like he had just been slapped, trying to comprehend how one could get stuck in a barrel.</p><p> </p><p>“Mhmm!”</p><p> </p><p>“And you didn’t call for help?” He asked incredulously, dropping the kid unceremoniously on the dusty road to get a better look at her. Surely she could have busted out on her own if the merchants really couldn’t have heard her for whatever reason.</p><p> </p><p>“I did, but no one came and then the cart started moving and it got bumpy and then I got hungry and the pears were right there so I-”</p><p> </p><p>“Okay okay I get it,” Sinbad said, stopping what was bound to be excited chatter, his hand inches away from the kid's face to signal for them to stop. So far his impression of the bluenette was not a positive one. Thinking <em> Who the hell gets stuck in a barrel and can’t get out? This kid’s gotta be what ten? Twelve at most? </em></p><p> </p><p>“Look, just tell me where your parents are and we can-”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t have any parents.”</p><p> </p><p>Sinbad’s thoughts stopped as he looked down at the kid, the information wasn’t surprising given the state of the country right now, but did they really have no one? Even Sinbad had the village should his mother die.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh!” She started, making Sinbad jump a bit back in shock, wiggling around until the golden flute popped out, “But I do have Ugo!” She indicated the metal instrument. She must have been bad at reading people because she kept going on and on about her friend in the flute. All Sinbad could do was shuffle slowly from foot to foot at the delusions, knowing grief probably had a large part to play in this.</p><p> </p><p>Did the flute belong to this ‘Ugo’? Was he a friend, a relative?</p><p> </p><p>“Where are you from again?” He asked uneasily, sifting through the nonsense the girl had blabbered about earlier and coming up with nothing, unable to remember any previous town or city. Hell, she might not even have been Partevian, she sure didn’t look it. Sinbad was willing to bet with how weird she acted.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh!” She said with a smile as if the thought that her parents being dead or missing and that she was just a moment ago talking to the flute around her neck didn’t even register on her mind as being not normal. Sinbad was devastated when he found out his own father died, and he didn’t even want to think about his mother passing on. “I can’t go back.” She said with a smile.</p><p> </p><p>Sinbad stumbled back as if the words had just assaulted him. Looking down in shock and confusion at the child who smiled brightly at him, not a care in the world that her own had since vanished. The sinking weight of pity settling uncomfortably in his stomach like a lead stone.</p><p> </p><p>“Oh?!” The kid gasped happily as Sinbad undid the knot keeping them bound. “Does this mean we’re friends now!” Jumping up with her arms in the air, chattering nonstop once more. Sinbad standing back up, rubbing the back of his head.</p><p> </p><p>He let out a deep sigh before walking off, a brief pause and then the sound of bare feet slapping against the hard dirt letting him know Aladdin was at least following him. Turning around to see she was still fumbling with her turban, walking towards him. Already the boy was thinking of putting her up for the night in his house with his mother before finding more permanent accommodations later. The two cresting the hill and being able to see the rundown village that Sinbad called home. He was expecting disappointment or pity, not many would call the crumbling mud-brick and thatch structures beautiful anytime soon. But Sinbad would fight to the death for this out of the way hamlet any day, believing that it was the people that made it home rather than any building. What he was not expecting was for the kid to jump up and down and point out every detail Sinbad had grown up with every crack and weed poking out, the people gathered by the well and the wooden fence. Her euphoria and excitement contagious as Sinbad soon found himself challenging them to a race. Sure he was taller and definitely more athletic, but he was also carrying a bag of fruit and slightly visually impaired so he thought it evened out.</p><p> </p><p>Breaking into a dead sprint and kicking up clouds of dust as he ran for the town gates, really just a sad wooden arch that signaled the boundary of his home.</p><p> </p><p>He laughed as he ran, feeling free as his hair whipped behind him, looking over his shoulder to see how far the pipsqueak had fallen behind only to find nothing but a rolling cloud of dust following his trail. The shadow from passing clouds giving the briefest of respite from the blazing sun before a gust of wind carried it away, blowing sand and dust into Sinbad’s face.</p><p> </p><p>“What the-” Panic creeping in as he looked for the girl.</p><p> </p><p>“Sin-bad!” Turning around, Sinbad found the blue-haired girl waving excitedly from the gates of his village. Her smile lighting up the otherwise dreary backdrop looking not at all sweaty despite having to run faster to get ahead of him.</p><p> </p><p>Sinbad smiled to himself, a little bit pleased but seriously dumbfounded at how the chibi had beaten him. Slowly jogging the rest of the way there and being greeted not only by Aladdin but the other villagers who heard the commotion. After the excitement had died down, many f the villagers asking where he had found the alien girl, Sinbad passed out his spoils for the others to enjoy and greeted all of them, telling Aladdin to wait here before moving on to his chores, hoping the village kids would be nice and play with Aladdin while he hurried through his duties as fast as he could.</p><p> </p><p>But when he was done, he couldn’t find her.</p><p> </p><p>Wandering the streets in a panic and asking anyone if they’d seen the foreign girl for a bit until he heard muffled laughter, it sounded like his mother, followed by something heavy falling over. Running at a dead sprint he rounded the corner and slammed into the open doorway. Finding his mother awkwardly reaching out to where a cloud of dust had been kicked up from where a barrel fell over. A tiny figure emerging looking none the better for wear after their tousle with the wooden fiend of holding.</p><p> </p><p>They coughed to themselves as the dust cleared, revealing that it was, in fact, Aladdin. Sinbad sighed in relief before giving them a cup of water to help get the dust out. His mother explaining that Aladdin had wandered in by pure chance and had been entertaining her with the retelling of Sinbad’s fight with the bandits, of course, it was much more exaggerated with the bandits being fifty in number and Sinbad apparently jumping not from a roof but off the back of a giant eagle. The three chatted amicably, with Esra telling Aladdin stories of Sinbad’s younger years, making the teen blush in embarrassment as she told the child every detail, and a select few of Badr. Aladdin performing a few more reenactments that Sinbad couldn’t help but start cracking up at with his mother and joining in. He had to hand it to her, the kid was pretty funny.</p><p> </p><p>The night quickly dwindled to a stop as they all fell asleep one by one.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Aladdin came to the next morning with a deep guttural groan, sitting up and rubbing her eyes while smacking her dry mouth. She could make out the faint smell of cooked oats and the dying embers of a fire.</p><p> </p><p>“Ah, you’re awake!” The soft voice of Sinbad’s mother, Esra, spoke from somewhere. Aladdin’s brain had yet to kick into gear as she squinted around, trying in vain to spot the kind woman who had let Aladdin spend the night in her home. “Not a morning person, hmm?” She heard the voice remark somewhere to her right… she thinks. “Badr was much the same, I used to have to shove him out of bed in the morning or else he’d be late.” The sickly woman chuckled to herself before it devolved into a series of rough pained coughs.</p><p> </p><p>Through her morning haze, Aladdin patted around the room, feeling out her surroundings as she searched for something to help, eventually finding a pitcher full of what she hoped was water and poured the dark-haired woman a soothing cup. She rubbed slow circles in Esra’s back trying to help calm her while she drank from the offered cup.</p><p> </p><p>“Thank you, but I really shouldn't be making my guest worry for me.” She apologized once the fit had subsided, giving the concerned girl a sheepish smile. Aladdin was about to tell her it’s okay before a loud rumbling echoed through the small dwelling.</p><p> </p><p>Esra laughed while Aladdin rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment, her face turning a brilliant beet red while she realized how hungry she was, the smell of oats still wafting on the air elicited another low moan from her empty stomach. “There should still be some food on the stove, Sinbad tried to wake you earlier but, well, you made it clear you would do so in your own time.” Esra smiled mischievously, looking at Aladdin with a glint in her eye that said she knew something that Aladdin didn’t. The younger of the two cocked her head to the side in confusion at the woman’s cryptic meaning, about to ask for more details when the rumbling from her stomach made itself known again, much louder this time as Aladdin’s skin visibly vibrated from its intensity.</p><p> </p><p>She rushed to the pot of gruel, scraping off a large helping of the congealed mixture into her mouth, filling a bowl with the substance as she chewed the semi-solid mass in her mouth. The texture was passable and the flavor was bland, as was befitting of boiled grain mixed with a sliver of milk for substance. She pointed mid-swallow to a loaf of bread, silently asking Esra for permission. Again, Esra laughed, finding Aladdin’s desperate need to fuel her empty stomach humorous.</p><p> </p><p>Let it not be said that Aladdin could not feel some shame, as she took one of the smaller slices of bread so as to not eat the struggling mother and son out of house and home.</p><p> </p><p>Her nose caught the scent of a broth, following her nose to the nearby pot on the stove. She lifted the worn iron lid, waving her hand to waft more of the mild concoction to smell.</p><p> </p><p>A thought striking her a moment later as she stared down into the clear brown liquid.</p><p> </p><p>“Esra-san, have you had breakfast?” She asked, turning to the woman who sat with a smile on her bed. Aladdin realized at the moment that she had never seen the woman get up.</p><p> </p><p>“Ah, I had some before Sinbad left.” She clarified, motioning for the blue-haired girl to come join her. The two sitting in silence while Aladdin ate, the young twelve-year-old observed the elder out of the corner of her eye, watching how Esra would hold a hand to her stomach and look nauseous when she thought Aladdin wasn’t looking, getting up to fetch more water whenever Esra’s cup ran low after a rough coughing fit.</p><p> </p><p>“Isn’t there anyone who can help you, Esra-san?” Aladdin asked, looking pensively into Esra's wet gaze, watching as she shook her head in reply.</p><p> </p><p>“Our village only has farmers, we only have each other to rely on.” She took a sip of water after explaining.</p><p> </p><p>Aladdin looked up in thought, trying to find a solution to Esra’s problem. “What about in the city I met Sinbad in, isn’t there a doctor there?” She said after a moment.</p><p> </p><p>Getting more confused when Esra merely shook her head. “All the doctors were drafted for the war, most won’t be coming back.” She added under her breath, looking into her empty cup with a far off gaze. Her mind wandering deep into distant memories dredged up from the past. Smiling when she felt a comforting hold on her leg, looking up into Aladdin’s sympathetic eyes.</p><p> </p><p>The two simply sat in silence. It wasn’t oppressive, but neither was it comfortable. It was a languid quiet, time freezing in the bubble of the adobe structure while outside the world continued to move on, unheading to Esra’s woes.</p><p> </p><p>“He’s a kind boy.”</p><p> </p><p>“Eh?” Aladdin peered up at Esra’s fond smile, the woman looking up to the ceiling while she spoke.</p><p> </p><p>“He’s just like his dad. My husband used to say that ‘Sinbad has a special power.’ But because of me he’s had to stay in this village. I worry about that a lot.” She looked further off into the distance, thinking back on memories seldom visited before she remembered she had company who was watching her with wide expressive eyes. “I’m sorry to tell you stuff like this. I don’t know why,” She reached out a hand gently carding it along Aladdin’s crown. “But you make me feel as though I can share anything with you.”</p><p> </p><p>“Really?” Aladdin questioned, taking the admission as a compliment with a smile, pleased that Esra trusted her enough to open up about an issue that clearly weighed heavily on her conscience.</p><p> </p><p>“I know it's a bit selfish of me, Aladdin, but I’d like to ask that if anything were to happen to Sinbad, that you’d be there for him.” She crossed her hands as if in prayer, startling the young girl with the severity of her request seeing as they had all just met. Surprising Aladdin further when she broke into a light happy laugh. “Because you see Sinbad doesn’t have many friends his own age, the closest being Ecrin’s young boy who’s six years Sinbad’s junior!”</p><p> </p><p>After a moment of confusion, Aladdin gave a happy hum of confirmation. The two smiling at each other in the late hour of the morning.</p><p> </p><p>“Esra-san! Esra-san!” A portly woman appeared in the doorway breathing heavily, drawing the room’s two occupants' attention as they waited for her to gather herself. “Esra-san, Sinbad- he’s been- the military…” She grit her teeth while she choked back tears. “The military has come to conscript Sinbad!”</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Defeat stung, but at least he hadn’t been executed. So now he sat licking his wounds with Aladdin, the young kid finding him in an alleyway where he had retreated to apply bandages and salve in peace.</p><p> </p><p>“Hey Sinbad, what’s a dungeon?” Aladdin asked her back to him as she watched the distant horizon, languidly bouncing on the balls of her bare feet as she stared out over the ocean. The young girl having heard the last part of the rich tit, Dragul or something’s, speech.</p><p> </p><p>Honestly Sinbad didn’t want to go into it, already annoyed with the half-pint not even a moment after he had woken up.</p><p> </p><p>“It's called Baal, or the hole of death,” He started, not feeling anything as Aladdin Recoiled slightly from the tower’s well-earned moniker. “Over ten thousand soldiers went in and not one came out. The nobility in the capital seem to think that conquering the dungeon will help them win the war, they say there's some great source of power somewhere inside that’ll help them win the war.” He answered, recounting a bit of what that military brat had spouted earlier while kicking Sinbad. Finishing up his bandages with a tight knot to keep them in place. “It’s a load of shit, is what it is. This country is going to shit and they think sending thousands to their death on the battlefield or in some tower without even a body to return to the grieving families will help them win some stupid fight no one cares about.” Closing his eyes as he envisioned his village, his friends, his mother, and then all the men and women who had been conscripted or sent to labor camps only to come back dead, in pieces, or not at all. And that was if they were lucky, a fair number that had returned from the war still had their minds trapped on the battlefield, waking up to scream in the quiet hours of the night.</p><p> </p><p>“I can’t die yet.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then maybe you should try the dungeon.”</p><p> </p><p>“Did you not hear what I just-” Cutting himself off as his eyes snapped to Aladdin, or rather where she had previously stood, having vanished into the air.</p><p> </p><p>Sinbad took a step back into the shadows, unsure of what to make of her disappearance.</p><p> </p><p>“Think of it, if what you say is true then the dungeon might just hold the answer you're looking for. You say it has a power that can change the fate of this country, is that not what you want?” Looking up to see her on the roof ledge smiling softly down at him. <em> How did she </em>, “I may not know much about people or countries, but I know if you think you have an idea that might help people it wouldn’t hurt to try.”</p><p> </p><p>“What are you saying!?” He kind of understood her argument. Get the power before the military or something similar, and it was that logical train of thought that had him just the least bit afraid.</p><p> </p><p>She sat in silence, her head looking up to the stars that were just now appearing in the dusky sky. Humming softly to herself while she looked for an answer in the infinite expanse.</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know. I just have a feeling what you’re looking for might just be there.”</p><p> </p><p>And with that she got up and walked away, vanishing from his line of sight over the rooftops.</p><p> </p><p>Leaving Sinbad alone with her words. It felt like she was trying to sell him a pipe dream. Saying he could somehow fight against the wrongs of this country and fix them. All he had to do was try. Leaving him to find his resolve in silence with nothing but the ocean for comfort.</p><p> </p><p>His hands clenched, digging crescent shapes into his palms as he turned her simplistic answer around in his head.</p><p> </p><p>It could be his ticket out of here, an adventure of a lifetime to see the world travelers and sailors had spoken about while drunk at the tavern after a long day of hard work.</p><p> </p><p>“If such a power exists, I’ll seize it. I can change the world from its current state.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm mostly posting this because writer's block has been stumping me and with a move and papers and other college crap I haven't had time to work on the Wheel so here we go on my Magi-AOS Wombo Combo!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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